Centurion seems like they are always left standing when the music stops. They have come out with some pretty amazing stuff and in some cases YEARS before anyone else does. Game Changers before people knew what Game Changers were. But they never seem to benefit. It's like until the big 3 take it on or add it to their line up no one seems to care.? And for the record No one cares who Was "First or Last" to start doing this or that. No one cares that this company copied that company.
Brand Loyalty is slowly going by the way side. If what you have TODAY is not the latetest and greatest then it matters little what you did 20+ years ago in a sport/ industry that is all about what's next?

Quick Fill and empty ballast with no pumps = Awesome.
The claim Fastest filling system in the Industry?? It's faster then Pure Vert? But you can't fill put vert on plane.
The Ability to pull up a rider and not have to pull 3000lbs of ballast up to speed and then have the ability to fill then ballast b4 the rider can pull down shorts and cut out =Brilliant
If this system works as good as it looks then IMO it is truly a game changer.

My critical eye sees some things that could use work. All these things need to be automatic and tied in with Perfict Pass. Example your boat is sitting in the water ready to pull a rider up Empty ballast. Driver hits it and as soon as the boat is at set speed it automatically fills or opens up the ram fill. As soon as the rider go's doe and the driver pulls back on the throttle it dumps ballast.
All this is being done with out the driver doing anything. IMO the driver needs less things to do and not more so he or she can focus on the task at hand. So the question is going to be Who Is it that's going to take this Idea and perfect it? Will centurion finish what they started or let the bigger fish eat their Idea

I wonder at what minimum speed the ballast can drain. Say in the case of a fallen wakeboarder. Can you empty the ballast after the boat settles, makes the 180, and idles back to the rider. Is that "no wake" speed enough to empty to take advantage of pulling up the rider empty then filling again.

Does the ballast have to empty when it comes off plane? I wonder if you had the empty ports open if just pulling a rider up would empty the ballast enough to help it get on plane easy?

The problem with draining any of the ballast when the boat starts to slow is that unless the vent side or outgoing ports close the water will just all fill back into the hull once the boats slows and the exiting ports are under the water line.

For now maybe the idea isn't to have the ballast fill and empty when a rider falls/gets up but just to be able to switch it side to side quickly?

That other system is the old calabria guy. I can't think of his name but he was the one that invented purevert when he owned calabria I believe.

Brett, on the current Centurion Quick Fill system you must be at speed when emptying, and if you slow down, the gates close. So you don't take on new water, but you also don't empty out water.

I suspect for wakeboarding, this will be pretty huge for the riders that want massive wakes without having to buy huge engines for the hole shot, You can start off empty, then fill those suckers all the way up on a plane and it will be less work on the boat and more fuel efficient Of course, when the rider falls, its 30 seconds to empty some of them if you don't want to start off with the weight.

Brett, on the current Centurion Quick Fill system you must be at speed when emptying, and if you slow down, the gates close. So you don't take on new water, but you also don't empty out water.

I suspect for wakeboarding, this will be pretty huge for the riders that want massive wakes without having to buy huge engines for the hole shot, You can start off empty, then fill those suckers all the way up on a plane and it will be less work on the boat and more fuel efficient Of course, when the rider falls, its 30 seconds to empty some of them if you don't want to start off with the weight.

right. any fill-on-plane benefit only really applies to the first pull of the day. meh.

Thanks Carzin. It sounds like a great start to the system I am just not sure how much water would actually drain from when someone starts to pull back the throttle till the boat is going slow enough that water could come back in or the gates shut. The outgoing ports would have to be huge I would think to let much of the water go out in the slow down time or from when you first hit the throttle to affect the plane time.

G
Since Centurion had the wake plate, ballast and speed control integrated with
there computer and custom profiles for each rider. I would bet that cats and ram file are also integrated with the computer
and can have custom profiles for each rider.

My quick fill is fast enough for me but WOW I need .... have to have the CATS!!

So, you don't know if the boat sinking had anything to do with the system?

R&D boats are finicky. Anything number of things could have happened that you wouldn't see in a production boat. I can't imagine they would be issuing a press release with new features after the boat sank if some critical design flaw was found.

It was a system flaw...maybe not whatbunwould see in a production boat. BUT you would think hat dealers only demo wouldn't be a "r&d" boat when they are trying to get dealers excited about the new boat they are pushing to sell

If they only have one boat that has these features, you can be pretty confident it is an R&D boat. Given that it appears to be the same hideous yellow color that was shown in the movies, it is probably the one and only boat they have right now. I owned a former Supra R&D boat. They can look just like production, but then again, they are being tweaked over and over again, and things can get missed. R&D boats are not built to the same standards, and often get reconfigured with non production parts and assembly techniques.

So, I'll ask one more time. Do you actually know the circumstances that lead to the boat getting sunk, or are you just speculating that because it has a new ballast system, this is what must have caused the problem? If you actually spoke to the guys when it happened, and they told you some stuff, I'll take your word on it.

I guess you are being cryptic for a reason, because you aren't explaining why you, a non Centurion owner or rep, knows this boat sank because of a design failure. A design failure is completely different from an installation failure. A design failure would be something that would fail even if everything was installed perfectly. An installation failure would be that someone didn't install or build something correctly (not to spec) that caused a failure.

Understood. I was hoping for details, like "The Centurion Rep swam in and said the RAM system failed and flooded the boat". All I see is a sunken boat right now. I have to think Centurion won't be releasing a boat that will be sinking on all their owners, and I would also think they would be really hesitant to issue a release on new features, given the sunk boat, unless it was something stupid that occurred or an easy fix.

For me, the biggest feature is the CATS. I hope there is some possibility to retrofit my boat with it, but I suspect they will be adding some additional fiberglass support in that area, and it won't be possible. Bummer.

For me, the biggest feature is the CATS. I hope there is some possibility to retrofit my boat

Ummm I guessing this is Never gonna happen. This system seems like its built around the boat. I don't think is is somthing like Surf gate or a wake plate or a wedge you could just bolt on. "palms to face"

Dude, while you are probably right, this is still an Enzo hull and they likely did a slight cut out for the plate and maybe some reinforcing from the inside. It's not out of the question. 'Palms to the face' right back at you.

Ok. That makes sense. One helluva expensive mistake. Clears this up nicely.

This board seems to be so critical of anything not Malibu, Correct Craft, or Master Craft, its important to get all the facts right in cases like this. I appreciate you getting the details for the thread.

I typically see more MB & Tige stroking and big three bashing than anything else on Wakeworld, hell the Centurion owner in this thread almost lost his mind when a picture of a sunken boat got posted...

Back on topic, I really like what Centurion is doing with their line. Has anyone seen an FX22 in person yet? I am interested in what I have seen online and in brochures, but have not seen one on the water yet. I wonder if these new systems will be offered on the FX...

Ok CarZin your either real handy with tools and you know a lot about boats or you have no clue. Be honest witch one is it?

The way I see it. Centurion comes out with some cool new features to get people to BUY a new boat. Why would you buy a new boat if you could just buy up grades from the factory that made your boat up to date. The factory's goal is to get you to buy a new boat NOT to sell you parts.

And think about the liability and problems having a guy doing this type of upgrades would bring?
Lol I want to see the 300 page instruction book that comes with this upgrade retro fit

I typically see more MB & Tige stroking and big three bashing than anything else on Wakeworld, hell the Centurion owner in this thread almost lost his mind when a picture of a sunken boat got posted...

Back on topic, I really like what Centurion is doing with their line. Has anyone seen an FX22 in person yet? I am interested in what I have seen online and in brochures, but have not seen one on the water yet. I wonder if these new systems will be offered on the FX...

Ya there is one at my nearest dealer, it is red with a tan interior, they are so so sweet. Very expensive, but they are a well made, very roomy boat.

I am going to step out on a limb here, IMO Centurion pricing has sky rocked up faster than any other brand, I wonder what these new toys will do to their price and if they are options or standard and what will it cost to retro fit a late model, I don't see the RAM quick fill being a retro fit option but what do I know. Flyboy had an interesting blog on all of the new surf innovations including CC, BU, Tige, and these from Centurion. The envelope keeps getting pushed and it's all good.

Well, I am not entirely sure, but I 'recall' that the NSS system, while it came out on the 2013 Nautique models, was a retrofitable option for the 2012s that were sold. Retrofit options are not unheard of, but admit they are rare. No way in hell RAMFit would be, and its still unlikely that the CATS would be, but I think it would be within the realm of possibility. Not saying it is going to happen, but it won't stop me from asking.

My dealer has sold a few FX-22s. Personally, they aren't for me. I don't like the design, and we don't use the bow, so we don't need to spend the premium to get a bigger bow area. But they are unique.

"reintroduced RAMFILL tech", it's not new technology, more so refined. I believe Epic uses a similar system and much props for pushing that envelope. Definitely not "new" technology. Shoot I think Mike at Sky Ski was trying to retrofit this on a Calabria years ago.

just dove in the water from the swim deck and my foot smacked the switchblade & sliced my foot to the bone. 30 minutes before my other buddy sliced up his shin on it as well.
thats some impressive engineering when someone who jumps in the water from the swim deck can get that injured. freakin POS.
Glad its no longer available.

Already been said, but I'm assuming that this is an R&D boat. Anybody remember that Mercedes commercial where they showed car after car being slammed into a wall to show how they tested for safety? I'm glad Centurion put it at the bottom of the lake vs one of us!

I haven't worked for a boat manufacturer, but I would guess that they all sink boats when testing new ideas and concepts and in working to make sure that us idiots don't find an easy way to hurt or kill ourselves, our families or others.

I'm excited to see the innovation and think it's great that they went to such lengths and expense to make sure it's a safe product to have on the water.

Wasn't this a brand new boat (regardless of R&D)? Why would plugs need to be replaced on a 2013 model? Does that mean people purchasing that boat should worry about replacing ballast plugs in the first year that they own the boat?

For the record that wasn't a bashing statement it was an honest question. Just seems weird to have to replace plugs on a boat that was just built.

Seriously dude. its not replacing plugs... its putting the plug back where it goes just like you replace your drain plugs on your boat each time you go out... cmon man ... you're bashing just to bash...

let me explain simpler... they took them off of the place they were that makes the boat function properly ... they then had to put them back in that same PLACE ... so they rePLACED them... they didnt have to buy new ones...

As somebody else stated, an R&D boat is exactly that and it has features, functionality and accessories that a production boat may not have. My guess is that those plugs won't be in the production boat so num-nuts like us don't find our boat at the bottom of the lake.

Lol ok bud. When they used the word "replaced" I mistakenly took that as the original ones needed to be replaced already (because they were bad, not because they weren't there). Calm down it's just a question haha. I have nothing against centurion and think a 30 second fill time is freaking amazing..... so again, calm down lol.

I'm curious on how much drag the ramfill causes when ballast isn't filling. i assume it would be alot and effect the GPH, how much would it effect it is the question?
someone should do a comparison when it comes out.

so the current centurion catalog says that the aprox max ballast is 3,900... can we then assume that this is about the same weight? if so that is about 3 times faster fill time than vert ballast on the epic 23v if i have my numbers right

Hi guys,
I used to frequent this board awhile back under a different user name that I can't remember.. anyway, stumbled across this thread, and figured I'd add what I posted on the the malibu board the other day.. If any one's interested..

I've been watching this thread because my marina has been considering taking on the Centurion Line.. Yesterday we met with the north east sales rep and demo'd a new SV244 with the ram fill and cats system... I have to say, both are impressive. The ram fill does in fact fill in less than 30 seconds and there is no additional ballast needed. We never even filled the bow tank.. I know total ballast on the boat was about 4600 with the bow tank full.. not sure what the two rear tanks add up to but the surf wave as well as wakeboard wake was insane. As for filling and dumping for each pull.. not practical, but doable I guess.. The first pull of the day, sure, but idling back to the rider wouldn't give you enough time to fully dump the ballast.. On plane it dumps In about 30 seconds. Again, not sure where the notion that these boats require additional bags came from, but we only had two people on board and didn't even fill the bow tank and the surf wave was scary big (I'll admit I'm a novice surfer though..) Keep in mind these boats are a true deep V hull so they displace a lot more water than a flat bottom boat with the same amount of ballast.. Now the CATS.. Essentially, it does the same thing as the surf gate, NSS, etc. by crabbing the boat.. Its basically like a rudder mid ship. You can actually steer the boat with it, which is weird at first, but basically you adjust it to whatever side you want to surf and your crabbing.. Now what makes it cooler than surf gate in my opinion (dont get mad, I'm still a Malibu fan ) is that you can use this function at any speed. You can dial in your wakeboard wake with or adjust for an unevenly weighted boat at any speed.. During the demo we put everyone on one side of the boat (just like all my dumb *** friends do and it pisses me off when I'm running down the lake listing to one side) and we were able to instantly level the boat off by adjust the tracking fin to one side, which actually tries to steer the boat and as soon as you counter steer with the wheel you can level it off with out ever moving people or ballast. Honestly, I think that Impressed me the most.. Consequently, you can use this feature to dial in the wake, again, with out messing with ballast or moving people. Now someone mentioned how hard it must be to drive this boat because you have to "fill, adjust cats, trim tab, blah blah" The boat actually does everything automatically.. Even before you save a setting as a preset. For instance if you set the cats system to compensate for an unevenly weighted boat and the rider falls. As soon as you bring the boat to idle it centers the tracking fin so that it doesn't effect the boat handling during idling, docking, starts ect. As soon as you come back up to speed it will go right back to where you had it. The ballast remains full however but will fill/empty automatically for a selected rider preset.
I'm sure some of you are wondering, is there anything I didn't like about the boat? . My one complaint was that the boat was noisy. At high speed and on starts it had a little vibration till it planed off and it was just loud inside. Not exhaust loud, just overall kinda noisy. To be fair however, I haven't been on a wake board boat filled with ballast that was truly smooth and quiet, so it could the nature of the beast.. Albeit, its worth noting.
All in all, I think they really did a great job with the boat. Its functional and they executed these ideas very well. The user interface on the touch vision or whatever its called is very easy to use and well thought out.. I love Malibus, I run a response barefooter every weekend and its still the best barefoot/slalom wake I've ever skied. I just wanted to contribute some hopefully useful insight to this discussion.

^^^ nice write up. Did you test/sample both reg and goofy surf wake and how did they compare to each other as far as being clean as Centurions seem to favor reg side unless RH rotation is opted for (I know this area of the Enzo has improved in the last couple years).

We ran both sides, and they were pretty much the same.. In addition to the CATS fin, I'm pretty sure that was part of the motivation behind the Asymmetrical trim tab.. Either way, we had no issue dialing in a nice clean wave on either side.. If i had thought I'd be posting up about this I'd have taken some pics.. but all I got was a video of us barefootin off it.. go figure.. haha